ABSTRACT
The relationship between regional funding and devolution is extremely complex and often misunderstood. It is nevertheless crucial to an understanding of how devolved systems actually work. Finance is the essence of modern government and without it little can be achieved. A state may have the power to declare war, but if it has no funds to pay for an army this power is meaningless. Regional governments are no different in their need for secure and adequate finance to function successfully. The crucial difference between most regional governments and their parent states is that the ability to raise such finance is not always in the region’s competence.
